


Disillusioned

by Chocolate_milk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29061138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocolate_milk/pseuds/Chocolate_milk
Summary: Ryou puts in a great effort; Bakura doesn't. But, he'll push the final plan back, and that has to count for something.
Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Yami Bakura
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Disillusioned

**Author's Note:**

> Aimed to post this on the 14th but fook the roolz i want my drafts empty again xoxo

The final RPG, not exactly Ryou's passion project (but something like that), was coming along nicely. Bakura ran a slender finger over the surface of their games' table, eyes scanning over the miniatures and spilt folders.

"Not only that," Ryou says with a smile that brings up his flush cheeks, crescents his russet eyes-- he looks so-- helooksso-- Ryou lets out an airy laugh, cutting off Bakura's thoughts. "It's done."

Bakura's finger halted, rigid. He continues his scan over the table top, the pile of character figures, character cards, the props, the scripts, the notes, he could go and on, the discarded paper over the surface.

It's done, that makes sense.

"I know it's sudden," Ryou rambled on, face still warm. Bakura listened, eyes halted and stuck on the Thief's character card. Piecing the puzzle together, the next step in a plan spanning a millennia. "I've been putting in extra hours at night for the last few months, I finished it last night-- ah, this morning," then, quieter, "I wanted to do something nice for you."

It's peculiar. The kid's peculiar, too, but Ryou's always been this way. Bakura wasn't usually phased, the novelty had long worn off, but this... this was the exception.

The plan now, the final plan, can be put into action before the end of next week. It's Sunday. Bakura's had long enough to ponder the details.

"Well," Ryou starts, then falters. What else could be said? The room is too quiet, too still. Wasn't a celebration, or at least something, due?

"Good job," Bakura says, having finished scanning the items overtop the table, it seemed Ryou wasn't lying after all. _You've been a good pawn, Yadonushi_ , something inside of Bakura croons. That's right, Bakura thought back, though the cooing left a sense of distaste over him. "Good boy."

Ryou beams at the praise-- and now that Bakura's looking at him, he noticed the boy looked sickly, tired, eyes a little off focus, out of it. His face had lit up entirely, taking the edge off his blue-purple under eyes and unusually sharp cheekbones.

A strange, depraved feeling settled in Bakura's gut.

Bakura rewards him the only way he knows how. Ryou takes his reward greedily. Like yin and yang, they're blending into each other-- infusing. Until they're not.

Afterwards, Ryou turns to him, flush gone, leaving him pallid and breathless. Bakura stares at him, properly, having the feeling he wouldn't be able to much longer.

"Do you..." Ryou begins, trying desperately to catch his breath, laughing airily when he loses track of his words.

Hnm? Bakura waits and thinks, staring at the dark lashes against Ryou's cheek. Wonders if, because they've consumed each other completely, if Ryou thinks the same as him.

Bakura's thinking about postponement, death dates, and a world that's shrouded in darkness, controlled by someone Bakura probably isn't. The Ring is hot against his chest.

"Do you..." Ryou starts again, voice lilted with a smile, "ah... What do you think of steak for breakfast?"

Well, it doesn't sound _that_ bad.

Then, he must've fallen asleep because Ryou's calling out to him, from deeper in the house. He smells beef fat and finally rises, following his nose.

Ryou has set the table already, Bakura notices upon reaching the kitchen, spread an off-white linen cloth over the glorified MDF board they called a table. A candle set between the two seats. Bakura regards it all with a stiff upper lip.

He draws his seat anyway, while Ryou sets off his apron, sending Bakura a sweet smile. He settles down their plates and sits down opposite the spirit.

Ryou laughs lightly. Bakura's was pointedly staring down at the meal, at his cut of meat.

"I know it's corny," Ryou says, explaining the heart-shaped steak. "But it's all they had."

"Yeah right," Bakura said under his breath, retrieving his knife and fork. He knew exactly what kind of person Ryou was, buying into whatever the corporation said would make a recipient feel special. Bakura hated such simple gestures.

But the steak tastes good, and Bakura digs in. Somehow, it doesn't seem appropriate to cuss the kid out now.

Bakura's taken at least a few bites by the time he hears Ryou's cutlery clink down on the table top, leaving his meal disregarded.

"What're we going to do now?" Ryou asked.

Bakura grunts, not bothering to halt his appetite. It wasn't like Ryou wasn't clued in on the plan. He chews his steak slower, trying to ignore the question. It melts away in his mouth, soft to the bite.

"The first exhibition showing is on Thursday, so says dad."

Bakura ignores him further. He wanted to spew a whole load of inane things, to put everything aside and pull Ryou toward him. Forget this and forget that. Put a millennium down the drain, a whole lifetime of planning and forgotten justice because of a kid. It's absurd. Bakura feels sick, feels terrible, his chest squeezes, he feels like a boy in the desert, living off adrenaline, rage and pig's blood.

"Well?" Ryou says, his voice calm and even. His face the only give away that he wanted what Bakura wanted too, wanted to declare just as much. A certain desperation in the contours of his face.

"We can't do it this Thursday," Bakura lies. Somehow, this is all he can say in concession. A little relief; he sounded just fine, like the lump in his throat was a sad illusion.

"The exhibition is on every weekday after Thursday-- until mid-April," Ryou's tone softened, faltering off. His demeanour weakened.

Bakura found that this show had been the last resort, and now he'd given up. Bakura had a plan and Ryou did too; it was just that Ryou's was destined to fail.

The Ring is screaming at him, Ryou is silent. There's no way to appease them both.

"We'll aim to have the plan in action by March." Ryou's eyes fell downcast, and he didn't know this, but this was the best Bakura could do. "We'll have the rest of the month to look over the details, we can't leave anything unrefined." Of course, Bakura's had 3000 years to refine every detail, the plan is perfect, but so is a white lie.

"Right," Ryou said, retrieving his cutlery from beside his plate. He lets the conversation die there. "I'm sure I've messed at least something up."

_I doubt it._

**Author's Note:**

> happy (early) valentines day to grammarly only, no one else has stuck w me through so much shit lol


End file.
